Mohammad Rizwan asks Pakistan cybercrime agency to return phone and provide written details of probe

Mohammad Rizwan on Tuesday wrote to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency of Pakistan requesting the return of his mobile phone and seeking written details of the allegations or suspicions being investigated. The letter, dated September 28, was made available in Pakistan media.

Rizwan's letter was sent a day after Pakistan media reported that NCCIA officials had said the wicketkeeper-batter was not cooperating in the inquiry despite attempts to contact him. In the correspondence he asked the agency to use official channels for future communication and to set out in writing the specific incident and allegations that prompted the inquiry.

Rizwan said his phone was taken on August 31 and that officials had initially promised it would be returned within three hours. The letter states he was later told the device would be returned after a digital forensic examination, but that considerable time had since elapsed and he asked for the phone to be returned without further delay.

The player rejected suggestions that he had not cooperated with investigators, telling the agency he provided the phone's password when the device was seized and that officials accessed and examined its contents in his presence. He added that when he appeared before the NCCIA on September 10, officials again had access to his unlocked phone and examined messages and other contents while he was present.

Rizwan also requested the NCCIA inform him officially of the date and time of any future appearance required of him. He asked that all further correspondence be sent through official channels to his residential address.

Rizwan and Imam Ul Haq, who had been ordered to return home after the second Test defeat in England, appeared before the NCCIA in Lahore earlier this month after their mobile phones were taken from them by the team's security personnel.